"Count... What are you talking about!"
The Crown Prince beside him shuddered as he spoke.
"The Imperial Guard Knights Division is under my command! You have no right to deploy them as you see fit!"
Even in times like these, he was still harping on about command authority. Margrave von Rosenberg was utterly exasperated. But he couldn't let it show. He spoke in an extremely respectful tone.
"Your Highness. Please entrust command to me for now. I will absolutely hold off the enemy."
"Hold them off? Hold them off against what? Those corpses?"
The Crown Prince flew into a rage.
"Are you out of your mind! Th-those are not monsters. They're demons... Yes, demons, no question about it! How can humans hope to stand against demons!"
"Calm yourself. They are nothing more than monsters."
"Deploy the Imperial Guard Knights Division and retreat immediately!"
Margrave von Rosenberg's heart went cold.
"......"
"Are you deaf? I said give the order to retreat right now. We can't lose the Imperial Guard Knights Division in a place like this... While the mercenaries serve as shields, we should at least retreat to the rear and reorganize!"
"......How do you propose we reorganize? Our main force is pinned down by the enemy's right flank. If we retreat, our entire army will be annihilated."
The Margrave spoke matter-of-factly.
"Your Highness, the battle is not over. It has only just begun. If we hold our ground here, our forces will soon crush the Demon Lord's right flank and turn the tide in our favor."
"And what if we can't hold!?" the Crown Prince screamed.
"The central army will be wiped out and I will die in defeat! Rosenberg, do you even realize what you're staking in this gamble? The future of Habsburg! You're betting the next Emperor of the great Habsburg Empire as your stake!"
"......"
"You said we win if we hold until our forces break through the right flank? But what happens if we can't hold until then? Do you think you have the right to hold the fate of all Habsburg in your hands, you country bumpkin!"
The Crown Prince turned around, huffing as he walked away.
"If you want to gamble, gamble your own life. I am not some commoner — I am the sole sovereign of Habsburg! While you hold off those demons, I, Habsburg, shall retreat."
"......I'm afraid I cannot allow that."
Margrave von Rosenberg stepped into the Crown Prince's path.
"What?"
"I said your retreat is unacceptable."
"You... you insubordinate wretch!"
The Crown Prince reflexively reached for the sword at his hip. But the Margrave's hand was faster. He seized the Crown Prince's right wrist. Before being a commander, the Margrave was a robust warrior, and the Crown Prince could not withstand his grip strength.
"Guh, ghhhh—!"
"Up ahead, the soldiers are holding the fortifications. If the Commander-in-Chief flees, morale will hit rock bottom instantly and the army will rout in disgrace. Our central army will collapse on its own, and the right and left flanks will be defeated in detail. Austerlitz will be remembered forever as the Empire's shame......"
The Margrave smiled, showing his white teeth.
"Well, it doesn't matter. It's a shameful Empire anyway. What's one more disgraceful chapter in its history?"
"You — you traitor!"
"What matters is not the Empire's honor. Your Highness, it is the protection of humanity."
Margrave von Rosenberg tightened his grip. The Crown Prince could only groan. He thrashed about, trying desperately to free his right hand, but it was useless. The Margrave's grip was as unyielding as the roots of an ancient tree.
"Victory and defeat are the fortunes of war. To win once and lose once is surprisingly insignificant. But one must never abandon one's convictions. Because humans are moths drawn to that conviction as their guiding flame."
"Guh, wh-what are you saying..."
"Your Highness is right. Perhaps we will lose. When that happens, I cannot ensure your safety. But that is precisely why you must not retreat from here. If the Crown Prince of the great Habsburg Empire fled before the Demon Lord's army — and sacrificed our own forces as his shield... If such a story were to spread..."
The Margrave shook his head.
"That would truly be the end of the Empire. The soldiers would no longer fight, the people would no longer trust the nation. Mercenaries would refuse to sign contracts with us. No, not just the Habsburg Empire. It would have a devastating impact on the subjects of other nations as well. What a tremendous burden that would be. I cannot, in good conscience as your servant, watch you become such a burden. Even if you called me a loyal subject, I would deserve no praise."
The Margrave smiled at his own words. His gaze, however, had been cold from the very beginning. Two pairs of eyes — like the pupils of an owl — stared down at the Crown Prince without a trace of emotion.
"Die for the Empire, Your Highness."
Rudolf von Habsburg felt cold sweat trickling down his back. This old minister was sincere! The Crown Prince felt a terror greater than when the undead monster legion had emerged through the fog.
"You lack even an ounce of qualifications as a commander, but fortunately, the label of Crown Prince is useful enough. The Crown Prince himself, fighting against the monstrous Demon Lord's army and dying a heroic death... When this news reaches them, the people of ten nations will be outraged. All of humanity will unite as one to fight the Demon Lord's army."
"You — you should be the one to die!"
Rudolf barely managed to scream through his chattering teeth.
"You — you're the Margrave, so you should be the one dying here!"
"My apologies. If I die alone, it won't have much effect."
The Margrave laughed softly.
"How could a loyal subject send His Highness to the afterlife alone? Do not worry. Though I am lacking, I will escort you to the other side."
Just then, an officer drew his sword and charged at the Margrave.
"Traitor!"
The officer shouted boldly, raising his cavalry sword. Without even turning around, the Margrave drew a short blade from his waist and threw it. The blade embedded itself in the forehead of the officer who was about to bring his sword down. The officer let out a brief, agonized scream and fell face-first into the underbrush.
The room fell silent.
The Crown Prince could only stare wide-eyed at the Margrave's prowess, like a startled frog, unable to do anything more. Only then did he vaguely recall that Fritz von Rosenberg was one of only two hundred Second-Class Knights in the entire Empire.
"Soldiers of Habsburg, hear me."
The Margrave addressed the officers.
"I do not know where your loyalties lie. But I ask you to judge. Look with clear eyes and determine whether it is right for Commander-in-Chief Rudolf von Habsburg to flee from this place."
From the distance, the sound of soldiers shouting could be heard. The monster force of five thousand and the mercenary force of twenty thousand had finally clashed. A fourfold difference in troop strength. Yet the Margrave — and the officers — somehow sensed the end was near.
"If you are loyal to the Empire, think of what path serves the Empire. If you are loyal to His Majesty the Emperor, think of what path serves His Majesty. If we retreat from here, we will have spilled our lives at Austerlitz for absolutely nothing......Can you accept that?"
He did not shout or threaten. He simply met each officer's eyes and spoke in a low voice. It was a more effective persuasion than any grand speech.
The officers understood that Margrave von Rosenberg was prepared to sacrifice his own life — and that even if he died here, he was seeking to lay the groundwork for the future. For soldiers of Habsburg, that was more than enough reason to burn alongside their commander. The officers nodded in tacit agreement. In that moment, every soldier present had resolved to die.
"It's not too late! Kill that traitor and become heroes of the Empire!"
The Crown Prince screamed miserably, almost shrieking. The Margrave looked at him.
"Your Highness's task is simple. In Valhalla, congratulate the Empire's proud soldiers for fighting well."
"I am... I am Habsburg itself!"
"That is quite the jest."
Margrave von Rosenberg smiled warmly.
"How can a single individual be the same as an entire nation? Habsburg is right here, and right there. Those who sacrifice their lives to protect the nation and humanity — they are Habsburg."
And then, the Margrave continued.
"Someone is needed to exercise sovereignty on behalf of the throne. But do not worry. Even if something unfortunate happens to you, our Empire still has an heir to the throne, does it not?"
"You — you! You were Elisabeth's henchman all along!"
The Crown Prince thrashed about in desperation.
"I knew it! I knew it all along! That harlot Elisabeth always ruins everything! Ughhhh! Elisabeth! Elisabeth—!"
The Crown Prince was dragged away, screaming. His arms were bound and a cloth was tied around his mouth. He was then confined deep within the tent. The Margrave watched the Crown Prince's final moments and thought: Of course, our forces could still win. If that happened, he would gladly offer his own head.
The Margrave addressed the officers.
"Gentlemen. The enemy may surpass us in the quality of their troops, but in quantity, we hold a decisive advantage. If we resist with unity from top to bottom, we can easily hold for several days. This is a moment when we need your fighting spirit more than ever. I expect each of you to become a warrior worth a hundred."
"Yes, General!"
The officers answered in unison. Each rushed to their assigned tasks — being dispatched to frontline units, relaying communications, or running to assess the situation.
The Margrave had a table brought out from the command tent and set up outside. He raised and lowered his head repeatedly, marking the current state of the battle on the map in real time.
A dispatch officer reported.
"General, the first line has been breached. The survivors are joining the second line. Fortunately, the confusion during retreat was minimal."
"Hold the line. Inform the soldiers once more that we win as long as we hold our ground."
"Yes!"
Shortly after, another dispatch officer reported. He was a different person from the one who had reported earlier — the previous one had died, so another officer had taken his place. The Margrave answered without looking up from the map on his table.
"The second line has been breached. The second and third lines have merged and are resisting the enemy. Our soldiers' morale remains intact. When news spread that the Commander-in-Chief would stand with them to the end, they answered with a roar of approval."
"Good. What matters most is that the soldiers feel they have not been abandoned. Even if the effect is minimal, keep using the catapults and archers. Show them we fight to the last."
"Yes!"
Once again, a dispatch officer reported. He, too, was yet another person. Yet another officer had fallen in the line of duty, requiring a hasty replacement. He snapped to attention, then reported the battle situation clearly. The Margrave responded in the same unchanged voice.
"The third line has been breached. The entire army is making its final stand at the last fortification. Mercenary Captain Ferdinand von Wallenstein has fallen, disrupting the chain of command, but it has been quickly restored."
"Deploy the Imperial Guard Knights Division as a flanking force. The enemy must be in disarray from their advance. Seize the opportunity to strike their flank and secure the third line completely."
"Yes, General. May fortune smile upon you."
And then another officer, and yet another......
At last.
There were no more humans around Margrave von Rosenberg.
The Landsknecht mercenary force fought to the very last moment, living up to their reputation as the finest on the continent. The Habsburg Imperial Guard Knights Division pushed the enemy to the brink, but from the Knight-Commander down to the lowest squire, every one of them died heroically. The officers were all wiped out as well. The last person to report to the Margrave was not an officer but a common soldier with no rank. He informed the Margrave that the third line had fallen and immediately returned to the front.
Thud, thud — footsteps were heard.
"Oh my. So you're Fritz von Rosenberg?"
"That I am."
The Margrave still gazed at the map on his desk. The battle still raged on in his mind. The girl standing before him spoke in an extremely cheerful tone.
"The battle is over. Child of humanity, what is it you're looking at?"
"The battle."
"And if even that battle were over, what would you look at?"
"The battle."
The girl nodded.
In an instant, a massive sickle flashed. It cleaved through the air and carved through the fragile flesh of a human being. Thump — something heavy fell into the underbrush. It rolled a short distance with a dull clunk before finally coming to a stop.
The two eyes of Fritz von Rosenberg still gazed forward. They reflected nothing more, recognized nothing more. But that frozen gaze pointed eternally in one direction.
As if an endless battle continued there.
============================ Author's Note ============================
— Chapter <The King and the General> END.